Fantasy Impact: The Detroit Red Wings have signed center Frans Nielsen to a six-year deal worth $31.5 million ($5.25M per season).
The Wings get: an underrated two-way centerman. His defense is well known, but his offensive capability is what's underrated. Just two years removed from a 59-point season, Nielsen is a steady contributor to both the power play and the penalty kill. You can see his percentage of the team's power play and penalty kill (%PP and %SH) here in the 'NHL Stats – Last 5 Years' section. His 82-game average, last five years (pro-rated) is 51 points.
Fantasy Players Impacted: Nielsen, whose wife is expecting their first child next month, will fill the void left by Pavel Datsyuk. And given the way Henrik Zetterberg's game is slowing down, Nielsen could be leaned on more than ever this season. Riley Sheahan isn't first-line material, Andreas Athanasiou is several years from possibly reaching such status, and Dylan Larkin is on the wing far more than he was at center.
If Datsyuk played 82 games next season, he's a safe bet for 60 to 65 points. Believe it or not, Nielsen could be good for 60 points in this new situation. So in terms of offense, as silly as it sounds, the downgrade from Datsyuk to Nielsen is almost negligible. Adding Nielsen will hurt the ice time of Sheahan and Athanasiou, but as far as impact on the wingers go – it's not going to be much.
Fantasy Players this helps, in order:
1. Nielsen (game logs, stats and line combos here)
Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:
1. Athanasiou (game logs, stats and line combos here) (scouting report here)
2. Sheahan (game logs, stats and line combos here)
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